The shooting at an Oregon elementary school that killed at least three children and an adult on Thursday was likely to reignite enduring debates about the effectiveness of gun laws meant to prevent deadly attacks.
Democrats control Oregon’s executive branch and both chambers of the legislature, and the state has more restrictions on gun ownership than most. The gun safety advocacy organization Everytown ranks the state 12th out of 50 for the strength of its gun laws.
Oregon gun laws include several of the major proposals Democrats have tried to pass in Congress after mass shootings in schools, houses of worship and other gathering places. Those laws include a ban on bump stocks and other weapon modifications aimed at increasing a gun’s rate of fire.
In 2022, voters narrowly passed a ballot measure to ban high capacity magazines and require stricter background checks and permitting. After legal challenges, that law is set to go into effect next year.
The state has also passed laws cracking down on 3-D-printed ghost guns.
But Oregon does not have some of the strictest laws favored by gun safety activists. It does not have, for example, a ban on certain kinds of assault or military-style firearms that can be found in California, New York and other states.
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